The Kremlin has urged Russians not to believe rumors of a plague outbreak in the Irkutsk region

Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov urged Russians not to trust reports of a possible plague outbreak in the Irkutsk Region. According to him, people should rely solely on official statements from Rospotrebnadzor.

 

“The main agency with jurisdiction in this area is Rospotrebnadzor. And it is precisely Rospotrebnadzor’s official statements that people should rely on, rather than listening to various rumors and speculations,” the Kremlin spokesperson said.

Peskov also emphasized that the agency employs “highly qualified specialists” in this field.

Rospotrebnadzor itself stated that it had conducted “research and analysis” of the situation. According to the results of the investigation, the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the Irkutsk region reportedly remains stable.

The day before, Russian authorities reported that on September 29, an employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute was hospitalized with symptoms of severe pneumonia. The 27-year-old woman died on the night of October 1–2.

Russian media reported that the cause of death could have been pneumonic plague. According to one account, the woman had returned from a work trip to Buryatia, where a natural plague focus had been identified near the border with Mongolia. According to another theory, she may have accidentally broken a test tube containing the dangerous bacteria in the laboratory.

Following the employee’s death, the Shelekhov hospital where she was being treated was placed under quarantine. A total of 189 people who had been in contact with the deceased were identified and hospitalized. Irkutsk Region Governor Igor Kobzev stated that no signs of the disease were found in them.

As a reminder, the White House is monitoring a possible plague outbreak in Russia.

Earlier, a plague outbreak occurred in Russia, and there has already been one fatality.

In Russia, nearly 200 people were hospitalized after coming into contact with a woman who died of pneumonic plague.

Prior to that, the death of a woman from the plague was confirmed in Buryatia.